Lawmakers Lure Math, Science Teachers with More Money

Governor Sonny Perdue's plan to attract more math and science teachers to the state passed the Senate Thursday with flying colors.

Georgia has a critical shortage of teachers in math and science. One estimate says 1,800 are needed by next year.

That's why the governor wants to pay new math and science teachers at the same rate as fourth-year educators for grades six and up. And elementary teachers certified in either field would get a $1,000 bonus as well.

Perdue hopes the incentive drives more educators to the state.

Teachers already working in schools would get the same benefits.

But eligible teachers would have to meet performance standards to keep the extra cash.

Because the Senate made minor changes, the bill now heads back to the House.

Clayton Schools Re-hire Some Teachers

Clayton County has re-hired 100 of 400 teachers who were told they would not have jobs in the next school year. Earlier this month, former superintendent John Thompson laid-off teachers amid budget cuts for the district. Only days later, he was fired and replaced by interim superintendent Valya Lee. She appointed a committee which found dozens of special education teachers were let-go without a performance review. Clayton officials say in addition to the 100 teachers brought back, some of the other 300 could be re-hired based on vacancies. The district south of Atlanta employs roughly 4,000 teachers.

Perdue Wants Education Grant

Governor Sonny Perdue hopes to tap a major federal grant to bolster education in Georgia.

The state should be in-line to get more than $2 billion for education from the federal stimulus package. But in speaking to agency heads Wednesday, Perdue said he feels good about Georgia’s chances to also get more money from the newly-proposed grant called 'Race To The Top' that is part of the stimulus.

The program would reward states with innovative ideas in education reform.

Perdue says during his trip to Washington DC earlier this week he told the U.S. Education Secretary about his idea to pay new math and science teachers more than other new teachers.

"When he got through describing it, I asked him if he had looked at our proposal this year over science and math teacher differentiation--differentiated pay--paying for performance and all of those kinds of things, because that’s exactly what his vision is."

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Georgia, like other states, has a critical shortage of science and math teachers. At the same time the state has tougher curriculum requirements in those subjects.

Gov. Perdue Backs Better Pay For Principals, Teachers

Gov. Sonny Perdue is backing measures that would bolster the pay of high school principals, new math and science teachers and veteran instructors. The measures would give high school principals a $10,000 bonus based on the school's graduation rate and test scores. Another proposal would give a pay raise of up to 15 percent to teachers willing to serve as "instructional leaders" to their peers. And a third proposal would give new math and science teachers the same salary as a fifth-year teacher.

(Associated Press)

Fayette Co. to teachers: give back raises... please

Fayette County schools are asking teachers to give their pay raises back. School board officials say the 2.5 percent pay increase given last spring amounts to 4 million dollars which could help keep the budget in the black.

Teachers aren't required to comply. The county south of Atlanta has struggled amid declining property taxes and state budget cuts. Another option discussed… slashing costs by furloughing contracted employees such as principals.

New rules for teachers due summer '09

Certified state school employees in Georgia will soon have a new set of ethics guidelines. Among the changes recommended by one union … sanctions against employees who harass their peers.

No one change prompted the Georgia Professional Standards Commission to re-write its ethics guidelines, which were last reviewed in 2005, says Gary Walker, director of the PSC’s Educator Ethics Division. Walker says the revised code simply clarifies existing rules and will have less legal jargon. For example, “Instead of talking about maintaining a professional relationship with students, we have our standard called ‘abuse of students.’ We want the focus to be on maintaining a professional relationship, how do you that and what happens if you violate that.”

Walker says the group may also investigate personal behavior if it conflicts with a teacher's professional responsibilities. The Georgia Association of Educators was one of the advisory groups for the new standards which will go into effect in July of next year. Educators who violate ethics code rules face a range of penalties, including having their licenses revoked.

Third graders' alleged plot against teacher foiled

Authorities in south Georgia have arrested and charged a group of third graders who allegedly plotted to attack their teacher. Waycross Police believe the plot by nine students to subdue and abuse their teacher was not a prank.

School administrators discovered a steak knife, steel handcuffs, electrical tape and a large crystal paperweight that students allegedly planned to use in an attack. They also say the accused students had discussions to coordinate the plan in advance.

Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner praised the school’s anti-bullying programs for preventing a potential tragedy:

“The biggest thing you have to point to is that you had a student who took the lessons that they had learned in these classes came forward and said something’s not right.”

Two girls and one boy, ages 8 to 10, have been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. The two girls are also charged with possession of weapons in school.

New University System site helps students, teachers

The University System of Georgia Wednesday has fired-up a new website to provide students and teachers with a one-stop database to search schools and coursework.

Playing on the Georgia state song, the site is called georgiaonmyline.org. The University System is launching it to help broaden access to the state’s 35 colleges and universities.

It’s a clearinghouse site with an updated catalog of online courses and programs. It allows students to apply for admission to schools, register for courses and transfer credits between System schools. Georgia teachers can also use the site to access six new online graduate programs.

The site launch is another phase of the Board of Regents’ blueprint to build enrollment capacity in the University System. It’s expected another 100-thousand students will enroll in Georgia’s colleges and universities by the year 2020.

Too many teachers in Gwinnett

The largest school district in Georgia apparently has too many teachers on its payroll. A Gwinnett County School System spokesperson says officials over-projected enrollment for this year—about 35-hundred fewer students than expected are in school this year. Officials say teachers may have to change schools. It's hoped layoffs can be avoided, as officials will wait to see how new student enrollment develops over the next few months.

Teachers to recieve $100 for school supplies

Georgia teachers will receive $100 gift cards for classroom supplies this school year.

Approximately 123,000 gift cards, which function as pre-paid credit cards, were provided as a result of Governor Sonny Perdue's budget recommendation in 2007. This is the second year teachers have received gift cards for school supplies.

This morning, Governor Perdue visited Centennial Place Elementary School and hand-delivered $100 gift cards to teachers in their classrooms.

"As the son of a school teacher, I know the extraordinary time and effort it takes to be an effective teacher," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "My hope is that this card eases some of the expense that many Georgia teachers face as they prepare for the upcoming school year."

The gift cards can be used to purchase classroom supplies that include, but are not limited to, paper, craft supplies, office supplies, educational media, textbooks and other teaching aids.

The cards are valid through Sunday, August 5, during the four-day tax-free holiday as well as the three days prior to the tax-free holiday. The cards are also eligible for use out-of-state.

During the week of July 16, the Georgia Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) distributed the gift cards to the school district central offices, and the school districts distributed the cards to the schools. Local school systems notified their teachers as to the individual distribution method for their cards.

Teacher oversight in Georgia lacking

A new national report says Georgia's oversight of its' teacher preparation programs is lacking, especially for special education. The report, which comes from the National Council on Teacher Quality, also says some colleges in the state weigh down hopeful teachers with too much coursework and repetitive classes, running-off good candidates. The report says as well that Georgia needs to get tougher on teachers who get several unsatisfactory evaluations. The report did say that Georgia is one of six states mentioned as having good alternatives offered for those who want to become teachers but don't have a degree.